Alcohol and drugs after surgery

[Elode 8,093]

Stop or don't do coke again, drink occasionally and pot well my brother is a marijuana farmer in Colorado so I'm bias. I don't smoke pot at all but I've been around it my entire life sooooo whatever.

[ocgirl15 667]

This is just my opinion and assumption. There a reason you can't find any info on cocaine use after WLS.... Because it has never been studied and nobody can give you a clear answer if it is or is not safe. Also most WLS don't do it after surgery. Probably even your doctors can only give a best guess which is not to do it just in case. It is an unknown. Of the drugs out there it isn't known for a great safety record and purity and "real content" will always be unknown. You might find a few WLS patients say I did it and I am still alive but that does not prove you will be ok. Not judging just trying to give food for thought.

[Dub 9,922]

I really am feeling much better about my coffee, occasional liquor dranks and a cigar once every great while.

Don't get me wrong........were there no employment ramifications for using marijuana........then I'd be having a hot tub installed next week on my back deck.

[miss_smiles 192]

We all know this is a lifestyle change. It would be great to know others experiences- not to repeat the same thing over and over again. We are each our own person if you don't agree- don't try to change others way of life. I damn well for sure know I work hard enough and deserve to unwind once in awhile. If my unwinding is different then yours so be it. Hope some more people have actual comments in this thread of past experiences. Jmc I would try the same question in the post op forum. I came in here on accident originally being a post op myself. Good luck!

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[4MRB4PHOTO 3,899]

Unless the person responding is a medical professional they probably won't be able to give you proper medical advice that it is ok to do drugs. Even if they are and say it is ok, they do not know your specific medical history.

Speak to your doctor.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

My first post-op alcohol (a glass of wine) was 6 months after surgery. Since then (I'm 20 months post-op and have been at or below my weight goal for almost a year now) I've had one glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of scotch most days. I almost never drink more than the "social drinker" definition (for women) of 7 drinks a week.

I don't "party" -- in the sense of drinking lots of alcohol in a single day / night.

I've done marijuana once since WLS.

I've never done cocaine. So can't advise you there. However, I *know* that, had I ever done cocaine, I'd have instantly become an addict and that the outcome would have been ugly.

I agree with those who encourage you to consider what you think a healthy lifestyle for you would look like.

I'll also say that losing the weight is the *easiest* part of this whole deal. Creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life is the big upside opportunity here.

Only you know what the downside of your obesity has been and what the potential upside for you can become.

Very best to you!

[jmc534 50]

Thanks everyone!

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[docpaddle 20]

Seems people are all over the place on alcohol, some within two weeks and others waiting months. Does anyone actually know when it is safe to drink?

[onehappychick 45]

Absolutely no judgement here but I would like to bring up some ideas. As a nurse I would be concerned about the fact that cross addiction is an enormous concern. After WLS people have an

increased chance of becoming addicted to other substances since food is no longer feeding our addiction.

I would also be concerned that alcohol and cocaine could upset the electrolyte apple cart and be more dangerous for a person that has had surgery vs one who hasn't. Please be careful, it would be crazy if you changed your life with weight loss and ended up an alcoholic.

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Edited April 18, 2016 by onehappychick

[daniotra 298]

I would ask your surgeon about the marijuana usage. I know cigarettes are recommended to stop permanently because they can cause stomach ulcers. I don't know if marijuana has the same effect. My program would do a random screening ahead of surgery to ensure you were clean prior to surgery due to potential issues with healing.

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[AvaFern 3,516]

Ok, to give it to you straight, if you're snorting the coke and smoking the pot, it's your lungs and your circulatory system being impacted, not your stomach or your digestive system. The alcohol is the only one you have to worry about strictly as a result of the surgery. In terms of cardiac issues from the coke, that is a different kind of problem. Smoking pot is pretty much not going to hurt you, but skip the special brownies for awhile just to be on the safe side. Obviously avoid booze until your stomach is healed and after that understand your stomach is smaller and many of us have a reduced tolerance. Now, as a disclaimer, drugs and booze are bad for you.

Also, while I generally say "ask your doctor" definitely do not do that until after you've had surgery or he might be ethically obligated to turn you down for the procedure. After you've had surgery, you're pretty much clear to ask him whatever you want because HIPAA keeps your records confidential and honestly, I would strongly encourage running it by him at a point when you can no longer be rejected for the procedure. Also, obviously lie about that part during your psych consult.

Also, you don't find medical studies based on coke, pot, and other illegal substance abuse after WLS because no IRB is ever going to approve a study with human subjects that watches what happens when you give them illegal drugs after they've had major surgery. It would be a gross violation of pretty much every aspect of medical and research ethics. It's less because there is a huge issue with it and more because it's not something that can be legally or ethically researched.

[pewpewpewpew 83]

I am a medical weed patient. My surgeon's only concern is if I get the munchies and over eat-i could harm my sleeve. Also He told me no smoking 4 weeks before and after surgery.

[jmc534 50]

@@AvaFern thank you very much for a concise and truthful answer to my question. Just to clarify to everyone, I do not plan to do cocaine or smoke pot because I have random drug tests at work, but everybody has their moments of weakness due to peer pressure or what have you. I'm making a huge decision to have this surgery and I am doing it to live healthier and better my life. I'm 40 years old now but in my 20's up until around the age of 33, I lived a life of excessive partying and drinking. I have two children now and I no longer partake in the drug aspect of that life but I do drink quite a lot on the weekends with my friends and my brothers. I've gone from a pretty steady 215 pounds to the heaviest I've ever been at 290 lbs. my joints hurt, clothes don't fit me anymore, my confidence is all but gone. All I see now is a fat lazy slob that I am ashamed of. I have depression and I'm on medication for it and looking back, I believe I used drugs and alcohol as a means of self medicating. I appreciate all of the posts and well wishes from all of you on this thread. It means a lot. Thank you for listening to my issues and letting me vent. I cannot wait to get this surgery and start to live my life the way it was meant to be lived. It will force me to do the things that I did not have the ability to say no to. I am excited for the future.

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[PissiChrissi 200]

I've been reading a lot about post opp nausea here and would actually assume marijuana would help ease that. It is used medicinally for nausea and prescribed by doctors for that reason.

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[thebynum79 10]

Hello my friend. First I'm not in your exact shoes, but I get the shoes you wear.

First off support is your biggest need. People who get what you're going through, but at the same time hold you accountable.

Second, weigh things out. If you're really serious about this then you'll have to be as serious about quitting your substance abuse.

I smoked for a good while. I knew I needed to lose weight. I knew I wanted to, but want sure how. I went to an orientation as my first step for GPS, and there they explained that if I were to smoke after my surgery I would have an ulcer.

So I decided to ask a close friend of mine that understood my addiction to tobacco, to support me and keep me accountable. It's not been easy and at times I crave. But I also remind my self why I quit; I quit for my health, I quit for me.

I have a sister who had the GPS and for a while it worked. But soon she began doing the same things as before, drinking smoking and not taking care of her body; she gained 80% of her weight back.

So this isn't a judgement of wether you're good or bad. But it is a plea to ask yourself if you are really ready for this life changing event in your life if you're not ready to give up the other life altering event in your life.

I hope the best for you my friend.

William